


nice day to start again

by mardia



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-24
Updated: 2010-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-10 19:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/103128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mardia/pseuds/mardia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the third wedding that Jim's attended since he took command of the Enterprise five years ago. But it's the hardest one to get through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	nice day to start again

_I let you go for so long, so long._ "White Wedding."

This is the third wedding that Jim's attended since he took command of the Enterprise five years ago. He'd been the officiant for the first one, a simple guest for the second, and he'd made some pretty damn good toasts at both, if he'll say so himself.

This is the first wedding where he's been the best man. Where he'll stand up in his dress uniform next to the groom, and watch the bride walk down the aisle, and in the back of his head, no matter how many times he pushes it back down, a tiny, selfish part of him will still be--

Well. No need to focus on that.

He's got a ceremony to get through, and another kickass toast to deliver.

After all, Bones--and Uhura too--deserve at least that much.

 

*

The thing is that Jim still honestly can't believe Bones is getting married at all. He still remembers that first few months of their friendship, when Bones was still licking his wounds over that messy divorce from Jocelyn, and reeling back in horror from even the thought of a _date_, let alone remarriage.

Jim knows that's not fair, of course. He knows that Bones wasn't exactly in the best state then, that his thoughts on relationships, on marriage, have changed in the last five years. They've all changed in the last five years, Jim as much as anyone.

Still. When Bones had told him, his eyes fixed on his hands as he'd said it, Jim's first reaction to Bones telling him that he was actually planning on asking Uhura to marry him was nothing but pure and unrelenting _shock._ Not dismay--not then at least--but just, Bones was getting married? _Married?_

He'd said as much, fumbling over the words, "Bones, I--congratulations, of course, but--seriously? You're going to go down on one knee, pull out the ring, the whole bit?"

"Yeah, Jim," Bones had said, nodding decisively. "It's about time, and it--well. Feels right, that's all. I'm sure about her, she's sure about me, and I want to make it official. Now all I have to do is get her to say yes," he'd muttered, his face falling into an unsure expression for the first time yet.

"She will," Jim had said automatically, even if his brain was still reeling, because that's what people did for their best friends, they reassured them during times like this, times when someone was planning to _propose_, oh holy shit, Bones was going to ask Uhura to marry him. And she was going to say yes, she was totally going to say yes, and then they'd be--wow. "She'll say yes, Bones. And then you'll have lots of cranky multi-lingual babies that love to stab me with hyposprays."

Bones had offered him a crooked smile, saying, "Well, someone's got to keep up the job."

And Jim, despite the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, had just smiled back, because he couldn't help but do anything else.

*

It's a beautiful day, with a beautiful bride and a handsome groom. The ceremony's short and simple, with the entire crew of the Enterprise in attendance, with Joanna as the flower girl and Uhura's sisters as the bridesmaids. Even Spock's there, because hey, after four years, it's crazy to expect him to still be the bitter ex. Besides, Jim's fairly sure that Vulcans don't do anything _but_ amicable breakups, anything else would be illogical, of course.

And Jim's the best man, so he's got a front-row seat to everything. To how he's fairly sure Bones doesn't even hear a word of the ceremony, because he's too busy looking at his new bride. How brilliant Uhura's smile is, brighter than anything else in the room.

When the ceremony comes to an end, and Bones and Uhura turn to face the room as a married couple, Jim's the first one to lead the rest of the room in applause, just like the best man should.

 

*

Jim wants to be really clear on this point--he has not spent the last five years pining hopelessly for his best friend. He's not the kind of guy to do that, and he's had a lot of other things to focus on, like, oh, making sure they don't all get killed by Klingons and Romulans, keeping the Enterprise running smoothly, being a generally kickass captain, that sort of thing.

It's just--it's him and Bones. It's always been the two of them, for so long now. And then Spock and Uhura had broken up a year into their first voyage (he's never quite gotten the story on that) and to nearly everyone's surprise, it was Bones and Uhura who had started to drift together, spending more time in the mess, joking over meals. Teaming up against Sulu and Chekov over a game of pool, and winning more often than not, because those two were _sharks_, seriously.

So even as he and Spock slowly started to form the friendship that was supposedly meant to be legendary, Bones and Uhura had been forming a relationship of their own.

And Jim had been totally supportive of that. He had, he'd been the one to urge Bones to just go for it and ask her out, really ask her out on a real date, and he'd been happy when Bones had finally taken his advice too. He had.

And it wasn't like once they'd gotten together, they'd started parading their relationship around the ship. They remained as discreet as ever. Just--there were these quick moments that Jim couldn't help but witness. Like the way he'd smile at her when they were all off-shift, how sometimes their hands would brush together. How happy Bones was in general now, how he was a little bit lighter. How they just seemed to _fit_.

So really, Jim had no reason to complain just because his best friend was happier than he'd ever seen him before. It's just that he can't seem to let go of the fact that it took someone else to accomplish that, when he couldn't.

*

It's the third toast Jim's made as Captain of the Enterprise, and it's his best one yet. He gets a lot of laughs, he keeps the humor light and easy without going crude, and it's not until the very end that he almost wobbles.

He holds up his glass of champagne and turns to Uhura and Bones, who are sitting beside him, and just--Jesus, looking down at Bones's face, seeing his hand resting in Uhura's on the table, it's been hitting him all day, the reality of this, but that doesn't mean it's not hitting him now. God. "To two of my finest officers, and to two of the finest people I know, the bride and groom." He takes a big gulp of the champagne, and the audience follows his example.

Before he's even lowered the glass back down, Bones is getting up to give him a hug. Jim stands very still, and it takes him a fraction of a second before he can put his arms around Bones, pat him on the back. "Thanks, Jim. Hell of a toast," Bones says in his ear, and Jim exhales.

"Don't deserve anything less," he assures Bones, and Jim steps back, and he lets his best friend go.

 

*

Without a doubt, Jim's favorite part of any wedding is the reception afterwards. And even if this wedding is the exception to just about anything, thank God, it's not an exception here. Jim dances nearly every dance--he even manages to get one with Uhura, who also thanks him for his toast and tells her it's all right to call her Nyota, "if only for today", she'd added with a grin that was easy to return.

Honestly, the biggest relief about all of this is how much he still likes and respects Uhura. Somehow, and Jim's still not sure of how this worked out, but it has and for once Jim is not going to look a gift horse in the goddamn mouth--no matter how screwed up Jim's head might be when it comes to Bones and to Bones-and-Uhura and to this wedding, none of that has actually touched his own relationship with Uhura. It's a blessing that Jim's grateful for.

Finally, during a quiet moment, Jim heads to the bar to grab one of the three drinks he's allotted himself for the evening--no drunken stupidity today on his end, because he's not quite the same guy he was in Riverside eight years ago.

Spock's there, not drinking, but observing the fesitvities, setting himself at a distance from the crowd.

"Spock, my man," Jim says genially. "How's it going?"

"Quite well, captain," Spock says. "I have never had the pleasure of witnessing a Terran wedding as...I believe the word is traditional?"

"Yeah, well, that's Bones for you," Jim says, shrugging as he brings the glass of whiskey to his lips and takes a long drink. "The most traditional guy you'll meet."

He takes a closer look at Spock out of the corner of his eye--after five years, Jim's gotten good at reading Vulcan non-expressions, and the look on Spock's face, as he watches Bones dip and twirl Uhura out on the dance floor, is...well. Pensive.

"You all right, Spock?"

"I am quite fine, Captain. Merely...contemplating the events of the day."

"Yeah?" Jim asks, and he knows it's out of line to ask, but he can't help but do it anyway. "Thinking about any regrets?"

Spock takes a long time to answer, his gaze still focused on Uhura, on her bright smile, on the white flowers in her hair. "If there are any regrets," he says finally, his voice soft, "--then they are mine, and mine alone."

"Yeah," Jim agrees, looking out at the dance floor, but he's not focused on Uhura--instead he's looking at a head of dark brown hair, and a crinkled, dimpled smile. It's so pointless and stupid, he knows that, it's not like he's pining for--it's not like he ever really wanted for him and Bones to be--

Except that maybe he did, without even realizing it.

Not that any of it matters now.

"Yours and yours alone, huh, Spock?" Jim says quietly, and Spock turns to look at him, and after five years, Jim can see the empathy in those dark eyes.

"Yes, Jim. Our regrets, and ours alone."


End file.
